It was discovered by pilot Ashley Snow of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941) on an aircraft flight on 22 December 1940.

Sims of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), a surgeon on the expedition.

The whole of the 70 ha island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a colony of about 15,000 pairs of Adélie penguins, based on 2012 satellite imagery, which breed along the beach on the north-eastern coast.

[1] This article incorporates public domain material from "Sims Island".

This Palmer Land location article is a stub.